The Dream
by Frefffy
Summary: The real ending to Skins series 4 - based on the idea that the finale was all just a dream.


"Effy, is everything okay?"

That voice sounded familiar. Comforting, soft, gentle; she knew immediately who it was. His fingers slowly grazed her shoulder, and moved down her arm. Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking a few times to get used to the light. She was lying in bed, wrapped up under the covers. It appeared to be the middle of the afternoon.

"Where am I?" asked Effy.

"You're home," Freddie replied. He was kneeling down on the floor beside with his arms rested on her bed. "You were discharged from the hospital yesterday. You've been here asleep every since."

Effy looked over at him, still unsure if this was real. He was wearing his familiar navy tee, with his necklace tucked underneath. His brown eyes were covered by his messy hair, but she could see the dark circles. He looked like he hadn't slept in quite some time.

"Where's Cook? Where's Pandora?" Effy asked in a worried tone.

"They're fine, they're at home. It was just a dream Eff. Everything is okay now."

He reached down and grabbed her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers. She squeezed tight, hoping to make sure that this was real, that he was real.

"Your sister was there," Effy explained, "and so were Thomas, Emily, and everyone. Except for you. You were missing. I thought that I had scared you away."

"You could never scare me away Eff," Freddie said, stroking the palm of her hand.

"But then it seemed like something bad happened to you, and that John was involved. Freddie, I was so worried."

"Don't be. It's alright now. We're still together and we always will be." Freddie got up and sat at the side of her bed. He looked directly into her eyes the way he always did. She could feel the intensity, like the energy was rising inside of her with just a simple stare. "Tell me about this dream, Eff. Maybe it'll make you feel better."

She nodded and began to explain, "At first I was still in the hospital, and Katie was there but you weren't. You stopped coming to visit me, but I was hoping you would still come. I could still hear your voice, and you told me that the people, they were all fucking mad."

Freddie smiled, "well, they are all fucking mad. This whole world, everything. Sometimes I think that being with you is the only thing that makes sense."

Effy looked down at Freddie's hand which was still interlocked with hers. She moved her thumb back and forth, examining his knuckle as she took these words in. It was hard to believe that someone like Freddie could ever say such things to her. Sometimes she questioned whether he was even real. The happiness welled up inside of her like a balloon, this time making her feel light and free. She smiled at him, and then continued.

"The dream – Thomas was there also. He was always running."

"Running? Running from what?"

"No," Effy laughed, "not from anything. He was jogging, training, all the fucking time."

"Jesus Eff, the last time I saw Thomas run was when he realized that he, Pandora and Andrea were all in the same room together at that party a few weeks ago."

Effy giggled, the dream was sounding more and more ridiculous as she went on.

"Naomi and Emily were there too. I think they got back together. And then we all had a party in your shed even though you were still missing. It was your birthday."

"My birthday? Hope the party was fun at least," Freddie laughed.

"But Panda – she got a scholarship to Harvard. She was going to leave."

"Pandora going to the most famous university in the world? You have quite the imagination Eff." Neither of them could control their laughter. The dream seemed so silly now looking back on it.

"But Freddie," Effy began, getting back a tone of seriousness to her voice, "the ending was really scary. I think Cook was at John's house. Something bad happened to you there. Then John showed up with a baseball bat. I think he was going to hurt Cook too, but it looked like Cook was going to fight back. And that's all that I remember."

Freddie brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, "you're probably just scared of John after everything that's happened. A baseball bat? We don't even play baseball here. Cook is fine; I just talked to him an hour ago."

Freddie smiled with so much joy and love in his eyes. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead, his fingers tangled in her hair now. Effy tilted her head up and pulled him closer. She felt his lips press against hers and let out a sigh as he sucked on her lower lip. She allowed her body to relax and feel the weight of his on top of her.

"Freddie?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going to happen to me?"

"You're going to be fine."

"How do you know? I'm back where I started."

"I know you, Effy. I know how strong you are. I love you, and I'll be here every step of the way."


End file.
